There are many situations in which it is desirable to obtain a closeup view of a situation or event from a remote location. In military applications, this is highly desirable for the safety of combat troops. Other situations occurring in a civilian setting require the same type of safety requirements.
The aiming and firing of a gun emplacement situated in the combat zone may be controlled remotely by personnel not located at the combat zone. In this situation, a video camera can be located at the gun site to obtain a closeup view of defensive positions, and at the same time transmit video signals of the combat zone scene to remotely located troops who can control the aiming of the gun. In another situation, it would be highly desirable to mount a video camera to the rifle of an infantryman, and a video display to his helmet, thereby allowing the soldier to aim the rifle without engaging the weapon in the normal aiming position. The infantryman could even remain in a hidden position and aim the gun through the use of the video display, all without exposing his body to the enemy.
With regard to the foregoing applications, it is often desirable that the video transmission from the camera to the remote display remains unavailable to the enemy so that such information cannot be used to the enemy's advantage. While elaborate encoding or encryption techniques could be employed to maintain the video transmission somewhat secret, such techniques require additional equipment, thereby adding to the weight, cost and reliability concerns to the system.
Helmet-mounted video display systems have been employed for assisting combat pilots in maneuvering aircraft and for weapons deployment. In these systems, control cables are generally connected between the helmet and the aircraft cockpit so that any movement of the pilot's head results in the corresponding movement of the weaponry. With this type of arrangement the video display and helmet are fixed to the aircraft and thus are useless for ground operations where mobility is important.
From the foregoing, it may be seen that a need has arisen for a field operated video system which provides for remotely located video camera and display equipment, as well as transmission capabilities therebetween.